Process of making titanium alloys.



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\ UNITED STATES PATENT orr on.

FREDERICK M. BECKET, OFNIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'fo ELEcT'ia'oMETALLURGICAL coMI ANY, or NEW YORK, Y.; AcoRPoRA'rioN' or WESTVIRGINIA.

\ PROCESS OF mmmmrrmmn armors.

Patented. fan. 26, 1969.

Application filed- June 5, 1907. Serial No. 377,335.

To all whom it may concern: H

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M.BE0'KET, a subj ect of the King of GreatBritain, residing'at Niagara Falls, in the,county of Niagara 5 and Stateof New York, have invented certai'n new and useful Improvements inProcesses of Making Titaniu'm Alloys, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention is a process of making an alloy or mixture containing asits essential constituents titanium, silicon and carbon in proportionssubstantially as hereinafter described and usually-in association withiron.

The product is'chiefly intended for use in the treatment of iron orsteel for the purpose of removing therefrom the occluded gases andother-impurities such as dissolved metallic oxids, or of producingtherewith certain alloys of which titanium is a constituent.

When titanium ores or ores of titanium P and iron are reduced by carbonin an electric furnace, sufiicient carbon being em loyed to insure faircommercial efficiency of t e operation, there is formed a roductcontaining a large proportion of car on, such proportion amounting inthe case of titanium carbid to approximately twenty'per cent. by weightof t e product. A com ound of this character cultly fusible, anddissolves but slowly in molten metal. It is moreover objectionable byreason of its high carbon content, inasmuch as the quantity of thetitaniumcompound which may be added to a given weight of iron or steelis necessarily limited by the carbon content permissiblein the resultingmetal.

I have discovered that by associating 'silicon in substantialproportions with the titanium, and by efiecting the reduction under proer conditions, the proportion of carbon in t e product may be greatlyreduced and the product acquires new and valuable characteristics. Thesilicon in this case acts to some extent as 'a carbon-excluding agent.That isto say, .a reduced roduct containing titanium and siliconexhibits a far lower'affinity for or tendency to combine with carbonthan a product containing no silicon; and the higher the proportion ofsilicon, the less carbon is absorbed under otherwise similar conditions.v

7 It is essential that the titanium should be present in the 'alloy inproportion to render 1t of value for technical pur oses, say in excaseof five per cent., and t e percentage of tion of carbon in the resultingmetal.

silicon should be sufficient to exert a-marke'd effect upon the carboncontent, that is to say to reduce the carbon content to ten per cent. orless. It should'be understood that the percentage of silicon required toeffect this result is not fixed and invariable, but bears a generalproportion to the percentage of tita-- nium present, for the reason thata given percentage ofsilicon exerts less effect in reaming the carboncontent of an alloy high in titanium than is the case with an alloyrelatively low in titanium.

lows: A charge containing approximately was reduced in an electricfurnace between carbon electrodes In case of alloys lower in titaniumthe, er-

centage of silicon above noted would yie d a product of lower carboncontent; and in case of alloys still richer in titanium it will benecessary to increase very considerably the percentage of silicon inorder to maintain the carbon content of the alloy within desirablelimits. 7 are desired, these can be secured by suitably increasing theproportion of silicon in the alloy. By using a high-graderutile,products may be obtained containing less iron than is indicated by theabove analysis.

Titanium alloys produced in accordance with my-process present ascompared with .ferro-titanium the advantages of a lower melting pointand a capacity for entering more freely into solution in molten iron orsteel; furthermore, by reason of their comparatively low carbon contentthey may be added, if desired, in relatively large proportions Withoutunduly increasing the pro hor 611" appearance varies somewhat inaccordance with the mode of their roduction, rate'of cooling, etc. ingeneral t ey have a metallic A specific exampleof the process is asfe1-' yielding a product con- In case still lower carbon contents .oradded to ,the bath.

I con to exclude from the inmolten iron or steel.

The process may be carried out under varying conditions, the essentialfeature being the reduction in an electric furnace of an ore containingtitanium, in presence of carbon and of sufficient silicon to excludefrom the product carbon in excess of ten per cent. The followin methodsare satisfactory: (1), by, reducing y carbon in an electric furnace acharge containing oxids of titanium and silicon; (2), by reducin oxid oftitanium by carbon in anelectric rnace, ferro-silicon or silicon beingincorporated with the char e The carbon is usuaffy employed insubstantially the proportion required to unite with the oxygen of theoxid' or oxids of the charge. In any case the process is preferablyrendered continuous by adding fresh portions of the charge and re,-"moving the products from timeto time. I claim: 1. The process whichconsists in reducing a titanium, ore in an electric furnace by means ofcarbon in presence of sufficient siliproduct carbon in excess often percent. v

2. The process which consists in reducing in an electric furnaceby meansof carbon a charge containin" ores of titanium and silicon; the siliconeing present in sufiicient roportion to exclude from the product caronin excess of ten per cent;

3. Theprocess which consists reducing a titanium ore In an electnc,furnace by means of carbon 1n presence of. sufficient silicon to excludefrom the produet carbon per cent., the carbombeing in in excess of tensubstantially t eproportion re uired to unite with the 'oxygenlof theoxi or oxide of the charge.

4. The continuous processwhich consists in reducing a titanium ore in anelectric furnace by means of carbon in presence of suflicient silicon toexclude from the product carbon in excess of ten per ,cent. adding freshportions of the charge and withdrawing the. products as desired.

5. The continuous process which consists in reducing in an electricfurnace by means of carbon a charge containing ores of titanium andsilicon, the silicon being present in suflicient proportion to excludefrom the roduct carbon in excess of ten per cent. addmg fresh portionsof the char eand withdrawing the products as desire in reducing atitanium ore in an electric furnace by means of carbon in presence ofsufiici entsilicon to exclude from the product carbon in excess often'per cent., thecarbon be? ing in substantially the pro ortionrequired to unite with the oxygen of t e oxid or oxids of the. charge,adding fresh portions of the charge and Withdrawing the products asdesired.

In testimony whereof,"I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

'FREDERIOK M. BEOKET. Witnesses: l 1

CARLEToN FLBROWN, C. C. MOSHER.

6; The continuous process which consists

